The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Feeling Guilty?

Over the weekend while discussing the illegal immigration situation with a friend, I was asked why I thought our government seemed so paralyzed and fearful of taking action to protect itself from the invading hordes. “Guilt,” I said. “Guilt over what?” he asked. I tried to explain, but Shelby Steele does so much better The First World War, John Keegan asked why the West chose to march towards self-destruction in 1914, and did not venture an answer. Steele’s analysis of the impact of white guilt is valuable as always, but the origins of the West’s loss of faith seem to be older, deeper, and more mysterious than the question of race.

topics:
Books, Iraq, Immigration

About the Author

Paul Beston is associate editor of the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal.

http://spectator.org/blog/2006/05/02/feeling-guilty

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